1st place LG wins by one point over 2nd place KT…

The top-ranked LG Twins continued their push for the regular-season title with a one-run victory over the second-place KT Wiz in a 104-minute rain delay, the sixth-longest in history.

LG won the visiting KT Wiz 5-4 in the KBO Baseball 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL on Friday at Katie Wiz Park in Suwon, South Korea.

LG extended its lead over second-place KT to 6.5 games. KT has lost four straight games and is now one game behind third-place SSG Landers, who also won on the day.

LG pummeled opposing ace William Cuevas, who had a stellar August with five wins and a 0.50 ERA in five games.

With the score tied at 0-0 in the top of the first inning, Moon Bo-kyung led off with a solo home run to center, then made it 2-0 with an RBI single to right by Oh Ji-hwan, a sacrifice bunt by Heo Do-hwan, and an infield grounder by Moon Sung-joo to third on a wild pitch.

LG starter Choi Won-tae gave up a solo home run to Park Byung-ho in the bottom of the second inning to make it 2-1, but the bats came alive in the top of the third.

Back-to-back singles by Austin Dean and Moon Bo-Kyung loaded the bases with no outs, then a sacrifice fly by Heo Do-Hwan and an infield grounder by Moon Sung-Joo plated two runs to make it 4-1.

The game didn’t get any easier. LG cut the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the third inning when Choi Won-tae gave up a walk and a stolen base to leadoff hitter Choi Sung-ho and a single to right field to Hwang Jae-gyun.

After KT’s offense in the bottom of the third inning, the game was suspended for 104 minutes due to a sudden downpour, and the game turned into a lull.

In the resumed offense in the top of the fourth inning, LG had back-to-back singles by Hong Chang-ki and Shin Min-jae against reliever Lee Sang-dong, putting runners on first and second with no outs, but they were unable to score as the subsequent batters were silent.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Yoo Young-chan, who was switched from defense to pitch, gave up a home run to left field to KT’s Bae Jae-dae.

Yoo then gave up a walk to Jang Jun-won and a wild pitch to put runners on first and second, and Hwang Jae-gyun hit a single to right to tie the game at 4-4.

The game tilted back in LG’s favor in the top of the sixth inning.

After a leadoff double to left-center by Hong Chang-ki and a sacrifice bunt by Shin Min-jae, Kim Hyun-soo lined a single to right.

KT clung to LG until the end. In the eighth inning, they brought in Park Young-hyun, who leads the league in hits, to try to catch up.

LG didn’t back down either. With runners on first and second in the bottom of the eighth, leading 5-4, they brought in closer Go Woo-seok.

He induced Lee Ho-yeon to ground into an infield single, and LG shortstop Oh Ji-hwan stepped on second base with animal instincts and threw the ball to first base to end the game.

The game stayed close until the end. In the bottom of the ninth, Go Woo-seok gave up a single to pinch-hitter Moon Sang-chul to tie the game, but he got Cho Myung-ho to fly out to shortstop and Hwang Jae-gyun to strike out swinging to end the game.

It was the first time this season that Go Woo-seok pitched more than 1⅔ innings in a game.

LG’s Moon Bo-kyung went 3-for-5 with a home run, one RBI, and two runs scored, while Oh Ji-hwan chipped in with two hits, one walk, and one run scored.

KT’s Hwang Jae-gyun went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs to become the 18th player in the KBO to reach the 2,000-hit milestone, but he was unable to smile as his team lost. 먹튀검증